Starbucks to open coffee farm in Yunnan

Starbucks (SBUX.NASDAQ) will set up a coffee farm in southwest China’s Yunnan province after signing an agreement with the local government, the Wall Street Journal reported. This will be the first time the coffee chain giant will operate its own coffee plantation. “Our customers will have a taste of Yunnan-made coffee in our shops from Paris to Tokyo, from Brazil to the US. We will share our coffee knowledge to help Yunnan develop into a top quality coffee-growing region in the world,” said Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz. The plantation will be based in Yunnan’s Puer area but the locally-grown coffee beans will be roasted in the US. No financial details were released but the Yunnan government said it planned to increase annual coffee bean volumes from the current 38,000 tons to 200,000 tons by 2020. Nestle (NESN.VX) and Kraft (KFT.NYSE) also source coffee beans from Yunnan province.